New research from NRERC asks a simple but important question: what happens when families having a loud picnic, someone looking for a quiet corner in nature, and a cyclist heading out for a trail all end up in the same small forest area at the same time?

A new study published in the journal Land tackles exactly this challenge — and offers a practical framework for managing it.

Yaara (Levy) Spiegel and Noga Collins-Kreiner, PhD. from NRERC, together with Eran Ketter, PhD from Kinneret Academic College, surveyed 302 visitors to forest recreation sites in northern Israel. Their findings show that while people generally love these spaces, noise from loudspeakers, crowding, and litter are recurring friction points — especially for visitors seeking a peaceful nature experience.

The researchers identified three distinct visitor types and proposed a corresponding micro-zoning model: a high-intensity social zone near the entrance, a quieter nature-oriented area further in, and clearly marked trails for active users like runners and cyclists.

The practical takeaway? You don’t need a large park to implement meaningful zoning. Even small, intensively used forest sites can be organized to give different kinds of visitors what they came for — without forcing them to compete for the same space.

The full article is open access and available here👇
https://lnkd.in/d8-ngMiB

Faculty of Social Sciences – University of Haifa

NRERC